


The Mist Hides No Lies

by Viva_Pluto



Series: The Infected World [1]
Category: Cartoon Therapy (Web Series), Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: "But annoying", "It's efficient Virgil", Alternate Universe - Medieval, And Roman misses his twin, Cat!Virgil, Changeling!Virgil, Guess who likes who, I think that's all the needed tags, If not oops, Jamus, Janus is that guy who's like 'I don't have a gender I'm a sneaky snake boi', Janus needs to move on, King!Thomas, Logan can teleport, M/M, Medieval Sander Sides, Nonbinary Janus, Oh and Patton is repressed, Oh and Virgil is a changeling, One sided Anxciet, Other, Prinxiety - Freeform, Reciet, Remus... he dead..., Roman is a bisexual disastor, Sorry Not Sorry, Trans Patton, Villian!Janus, Virgil doesn't like it, Wizard!Logan, and he replaces Elliot, and he's obsessed with it, btw Virgil thought he was aromantic, but don't assume guys, cause why not, demus - Freeform, fae!virgil, he gets dizzy, he's not good at rejection, knight!roman, logicality - Freeform, prince!patton, whatever
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-26
Updated: 2020-07-17
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:27:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24934510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Viva_Pluto/pseuds/Viva_Pluto
Summary: Though the prophecy predicted mass death and great loss, the kingdom wasn't prepared.The Infected are spreading and gaining in numbers, and the death count is increasing alarmingly quick. To save his kingdom, Crown Prince Patton of Dressan ventures out with his best friend, the knight Roman, to fulfill the prophecy that was foretold the night of his birth. The two friends head off to defeat the cause of the suffering. With his confident best friend, a quick-witted wizard and a rather sarcastic cat, Patton is prepared to do anything to save his people.~The world isn't as it seems. There's two sides to every story. This is one side.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Deceit | Janus Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Elliott (Cartoon Therapy), Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Logic | Logan Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Morality | Patton Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Logic | Logan Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Morality | Patton Sanders, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders/Deceit | Janus Sanders, Elliott (Cartoon Therapy) & Logic | Logan Sanders, Logic | Logan Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders, Morality | Patton Sanders & Thomas Sanders, one-sided Deceit | Janus Sanders/Anxiety | Virgil Sanders
Series: The Infected World [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1806148
Comments: 13
Kudos: 43





	1. Prequel- The Young Prince

Miranda didn’t know what to expect when she had started to climb the massive tree in the private courtyard. She had wanted to climb up and look over the wall, but she hadn’t considered that a branch would snap under her and send her crashing to the ground. She was rather upset and moved to get up, but a jolt of pain raced up her leg, and she fell with a gasp. She looked down and saw her ankle. She did not like the way it was twisted.

Miranda sat down with an unhappy sigh, then she looked up when a noise echoed out in the small area. She frowned, then tensed as she slowly turned her head to the side and looked up the length out a sword at a boy around her age. She blinked slowly, then put her hands on her hips and huffed.

“It’s not nice to threaten people! That’s just mean! You don’t know me, and you’re holding a sword at me? What if I did that to you?”

The boy was clearly startled, but he quickly lowered his sword with a mumbled apology. 

Miranda smiled with a tilt of her head, “It’s okay! You didn’t mean anything bad by it! Oh hey, what’s your name?”

The boy immediately brightened, straightening and puffing out his chest, “I am a knight in training, Apprentice Roman! It’s a pleasure to meet you!” He bowed dramatically, making Miranda giggle, then Roman looked up at her with a happy smile.

“What’s your name, fair maiden? Surely a lady as nice as you has a fine name to go along with your beauty?”

Miranda immediately felt her smile fall, but she forced herself to keep it together. She could hear her wavering voice, but ignored Roman’s concerned look.

“My name is Miranda, but I’m not beautiful.”

Roman scoffed, “Your eyes are a lovely blue, and your hair looks like gold. Surely you could catch the eye of even the blind!”

Miranda looked at Roman for a moment, then shook her head stubbornly.

“I’m not beautiful. Please don’t call me that.”

Roman gazed at her for a long time. Like, she started to get nervous and glanced up at him cause he was quiet for so long. She opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off.

“Maybe not beautiful. Perhaps… handsome?” 

  
  


~

  
  


Roman watched Miranda carefully, fully prepared to bolt while screaming apologies over his shoulder. He did  _ not _ expect for the small girl- person- to burst into tears. However, he was quickly to hug the sobbing puffball.

Miranda slowly calmed down but kept sniffling.

“I know- I know it’s not right- I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!” 

Roman crossed his arms, “Hey, the only thing wrong right now is that I got it wrong! I shouldn’t have assumed! Madre says it’s not right to assume anything!”

Miranda let out a choking noise before wailing, “It’s not right!”

“Who told you that?”

Miranda frowned but didn’t stop sniffling.

“W-well, no one said it  _ exactly-” _

Roman nodded stubbornly, “Exactly! Madre says bodies don’t matter! A person is a person and love is love!” He looked quite proud of himself, then he blinked. “Wait, what should I call you? Mada says it’s polite to ask someone’s preferred name.”

Miranda looked a bit lost, “M-my name is Miranda?”

Roman tilted his head, “Well, you might’ve been  _ given _ that name, but what do you want to be called? Like, a boy name. Or a not boy, not girl name.”

Miranda chewed on her lip, “Any name I want?” She hesitated despite Roman’s happy nod and quiet ‘yes, whatever you want’.

“I… I want to be called Patton?”

Roman smiled brightly, bowing and sticking out his hand dramatically, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lord Patton.”

Patton sniffled and took Roman’s hand, then started crying again. Roman quickly hugged the wailing prince, hushing him.

“Hey, it’s okay. Don’t worry.”

Patton pulled away and looked at Roman, “Thank you so much!”

Roman shrugged, “No need to thank me. Let’s be friends though? That’s how you can repay me!” He rubbed his neck, “I… don’t have any friends except for my brother…”

Patton smiled happily, “Of course I’ll be your friend! And your brother’s!”

Roman grinned, “Come on! I’ll introduce you!”

Patton got scooped up by the other boy, who laughed loudly before carrying him towards the village. “You’ll love Remus! He’s weird and a little gross, but he loves nice people!”


	2. Chapter 1: Hello Miss Assassin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And so our story officially begins with a flower crown and a prophecy.

Patton bolted down the hall with a grin, stumbling around the castle workers and apologizing when he ran into a few of them. He burst out into the courtyard and looked around wildly before he caught sight of a dozen knights on horses riding towards the castle. He waited on the steps, bouncing on his heels as he chewed on his lip. The moment he saw the leading knight remove his helmet to reveal brown hair only partially tied up, he squealed and resumed his running.

The knight dismounted and caught Patton when the blonde leapt at him, both of them landing on the ground with soft grunts. The knight laughed, shoving Patton off, “For someone so short, you sure are good at tackling, Pat.” 

Patton ignored him, hugging the knight tightly, “You were gone for  _ forever _ , Ro! I was  _ dying _ of boredom!”

Roman laughed some more, “It was hardly a month long quest, Pat. How about this: I go put Stella up,” he rubbed his horse’s ear affectionately, “and you meet me in the courtyard. We’ll climb the tree and you can tell me what’s been happening around here.”

Patton stuck his hands on his hips, “Fine, but hurry up!” He waved with a bright smile, then practically skipped off to the courtyard. As he went down the hall, he caught a glimpse of a few advisors going into the throne room. He hesitated, debating whether or not to go investigate, but he ended up continuing to the courtyard with a mental note to ask his father later.

  
  


~ 

  
  


Patton grabbed another dandelion, adding it to the flower crown he was weaving. He inspected it critically, then nodded to himself and set it on his blonde curls. He picked a handful of poppies and started weaving them together, checking occasionally to make sure it’d fit on Roman’s head.

Roman reenacted the part of the story where the knights had slain the dragon, who had been terrorizing the farmers in a town on the edge of the kingdom. However, right as he dramatically thrust his sword at a downward angle, there was a wet gurgling sound from the shrubs. The two men looked at each other, then at the shrubs. Roman stepped in front of Patton, holding his sword with practiced ease, and Patton quickly stood up.

A thin woman fell out of the shrubs, looking around wildly. The two men quickly relaxed, and Roman lowered his sword and stepped forwards.

“Ma’am, are you alright? Do you need help? I’m Sir Roman, and I would be happy to-”

The woman lunged at him with a snarl, gripping his throat to choke him. She was gurgling and hissing, her golden yellow practically glowing.

Roman blinked, clearly startled, but he quickly jumped into action. He easily broke her hold and kicked her off, standing up only to lower slightly in a defensive crouch. He rubbed his throat, frowning as he eyed the frothing woman.

“Ma’am, you’re obviously not feeling well. If you calm down, we can get you the help you need.” When he didn’t see any signs of her hearing him, Roman spoke over his shoulder to address his best friend. “Pat, back up slowly and get inside.”

Patton did as told, keeping his eyes on the woman. However, he suddenly fell backwards with a soft exhale of air. He shot a disapproving look at the tree root he’d tripped over, but he was almost immediately busy with a snarling body pinning him to the ground. The woman whipped out a dagger from who-knows-where, holding Patton’s head down by his curls. He looked at the dagger, freezing in terror.

Roman shouted in alarm, throwing his sword down onto the grass and pouncing on the woman. The two of them tumbled off of Patton, and Roman elbowed the woman in her face sharply. She wailed, and the knight struggled to catch her flailing arms. In those brief seconds, Roman felt a sharp sensation in his shoulder. He paid it no heed, though, and turned the woman over and looked at Patton.

“Scarf!”

Patton scrambled to yank his scarf off, tossing it at Roman, who caught it easily. The knight tied the woman’s wrists together, testing the knot thoroughly before nodding. He straightened and smiled at Patton.

“There we go, it’s all good. You okay?”

Patton crawled over to Roman, his eyes trained on the latter’s shoulder. Roman followed his gaze, grimacing when he saw the shallow cut the dagger had made.

“Damn. I liked this shirt.”

“The shirt, Roman?! You were just stabbed!”

Roman waved his hand dismissively, “I’m fine, I’ve had worse. Can you do me a favor and go call a guard? I don’t want to drag this woman down the hallway all the way to the cells. Not alone, at least. I don’t want her to hurt herself.”

Patton looked incredulous, but he got up quietly and jogged inside. A few minutes later, a couple guards were taking the woman to the cells. Two guards lingered, one inspecting Roman’s shoulder while the other checked up on Patton.

“Your Highness, you should go to your rooms to process all of this. These sorts of things are hard to comprehend, especially for someone of your… situation.”

Patton stiffened, “Pardon me?”

The guard cleared his throat, “I-I just meant that a lady- I mean, the princess-  _ prince- _ ah-”

Roman clasped a hand on the guard’s shoulder, “Just go, my friend.”

The guard nodded gratefully, fleeing the courtyard. The other guard left, as well, with an apologetic smile.

Patton sighed heavily, then looked at his best friend, “Let’s go get your shoulder checked out before we go tell me dad.”

Roman wrapped his uninjured arm around Patton’s back, “Yeah, let’s go.”

  
  


~

  
  


Patton rocked on his heels next to Roman, who was picking at the bandages on his shoulder. The prince batted Roman’s hand down, frowning disapprovingly.

King Thomas was pacing back and forth, tapping on his chin. He suddenly turned on his son and the young knight.

“Yellow eyes, you say?”

Roman nodded in confirmation. The king nodded, pacing some more before he sighed and looked at the two young men, crossing his arms.

“This isn’t the first attack like this, and I’m afraid the reports are starting to flood in.”

Patton frowned, “Dad- Father,” he corrected when the group of advisors glanced at him with questioning expressions. The prince continued, “What’s happening? Only magic could’ve done something like that, and there aren’t any warlocks or witches that have sent any complaints. And the Fae swore to keep to themselves as long as their territory is given a wide berth by any of our people. Could a neighboring kingdom have sent a mage or someone else to wreak havoc?”

King Thomas shook his head, “I’ve sent word to the rulers of the two kingdoms on our borders. King Terrence said he wouldn’t do anything like that, especially not if it caused any problems, and Monarch Joan’s kingdom has been our ally for decades. Not to mention they both reported similar issues in their own kingdoms. I’ve sent out decrees to every town that asked for anyone with information to send word, but that was many months ago when the issue was much smaller. The people are starting to call them the Infected, and they never recover. Each and every one, when they reach a week or so after the initial wound from an Infected, they slowly lose their mind. They start attacking anyone in sight, and then any living creatures they see. Soon afterwards, they either become completely animalistic, or they kill themselves.” 

Roman grimaced, “Perhaps I can lead a group of knights to investigate every town, one by one-”

“No, Roman. I’m appointing you to be my son’s personal knight once more. After that woman breached our security, I cannot risk his life.”

Patton narrowed his eyes, “Well, what’s the plan, then? Let our people suffer?”

Thomas laid a hand on the prince’s shoulder, “No, kiddo. I am sending out soldiers to try and find any possible cause for this… pandemic. Until then, people are advised to stay in groups when out and about, and limit traveling alone. I can’t do anything else.”

Roman and Patton dropped their gazes, and Thomas sighed heavily.

“Go back to your chambers. Starting tomorrow, you’re resuming your combat lessons.”

Patton looked less than pleased with this decision, but he nodded. After being dismissed, the two young men left.

Thomas took a deep breath before sitting down on the throne. He looked at his advisors, “How long do we have before there are more Infected than healthy people?”

The head advisor looked over the charts, chewing on their lip. 

“At most, Your Majesty? Six months.”

  
  


~

  
  


Patton let another arrow fly with a grunt of frustration. It hit a couple inches off the bullseye, but Roman nodded approvingly.

“I see you haven’t lost any of your talent over the past eight years.”

Patton huffed, retrieving his arrow before returning to his firing position.

Roman watched him but kept sharpening his sword. He knew that his younger friend would soon explode.

As expected, Patton suddenly growled angrily. 

“We can’t just sit around doing nothing!”

Roman hummed, “We’re not doing  _ nothing. _ We’re waiting until there’s something we  _ can _ do.” He shrugged, “I’m not happy about it, either, but we can’t go against the king without a  _ good _ reason-”

There was a sudden voice, “What if I did have a good reason?”

Roman and Patton whirled around, both of them shocked to see the court mage standing in front of them with an old scroll in her wrinkled hands.

Roman immediately stood up and gestured to the bench, “Please, ma’am, sit down.”

The mage nodded, sitting down on the stone bench, her ancient bones audibly clicking. 

Patton smiled at her, then blinked, “Wait, what do you mean? You have a good reason for what?”

“For you to disobey your father, Prince Patton.”

Patton and Roman glanced at each other, then the latter spoke slowly.

“Being completely theoretical… what’s this reason?”

“Why the prophecy, of course.”

Patton tilted his head, “What prophecy are you talking about?”

“Yours. The one given to you the moment you were born.” The old mage glanced between them, then sighed dramatically, “Fine, I’ll show you.” She held up her hands, and the world warped.

  
  


~

  
  


__ _ The woman screamed in anger as the midwife told her to remain calm. The loud woman was clutching Thomas’ hand, and he looked to be about his son’s current age. A blonde man stood next to him, wearing a ring that matched the king’s. _

__ _ The midwife grimaced, “Valerie, dear, please try to focus on pushing- yes, like that, almost the-” _

__ _ The room suddenly went silent, and the court mage appeared in all her youthful beauty. She walked over to the woman in labor, smiling softly. She went still, her eyes glowing as a deep, throaty voice tore out of her throat. _

_“When the ring of fire sets ablaze, the quest will begin._

_Though four will soon rally, only two initially set in._

_At the starlight tower, learn what three items were lost._

_Two will regain forgotten blood, but the youngest pays the cost._

_The human masks away pain, but a secret will ultimately emerge._

_When the faerie follows their heart, the rule’s life is on the verge.”_

_ The mage shook herself, then rushed to grab a piece of paper and scribble the words down. She looked up at the frozen scene, then vanished mere seconds before it resumed. _

  
  


~

  
  


The old mage shook her head, offering a slip of paper to Patton. He cautiously took it as she spoke, “The first line, a ring on fire, that’s in a month. It’s the eclipse. You have until then to train, pack and prepare. I know of a wizard who specializes in enchanting items. I will send you to him with a map, and he will enchant it for you so the map can guide your quest. You will depart during the eclipse celebration and viewing. I will be in the tallest tower, projecting a barrier that will protect the people’s eyes from the eclipse. At least, the people within my magic’s radius. When you are ready to leave, come to me, and I’ll teleport you outside of the castle walls.”

Roman frowned, “And how do you know this prophecy is about us?”

The mage deadpanned, “You’re kidding. I was summoned to Patton’s birth and spoke a prophecy. And I spoke the same one at your birth, Roman. Along with two others.” She looked a bit disgruntled, “I’ll admit, I’m getting into my… older years. I do not remember the other two, not their species not gender nor name. Not that it’d be foolproof information, anyways.” She shot a brief smile towards the Crown Prince.

Patton cleared his throat, “Thank you, ma’am. For all of this.”

The mage shook her head, “Do not thank me. All I’ve done is pass on information. I can do no else to aid you besides get you outside of the castle in a month. I suggest you get back to training. This world isn’t ready for a young pacifist. Especially not during these dark times.” She stood up, wincing.

Roman offered his arm, but she waved him off. “No, I’m old, but I don’t need help. I do have a gift for the two of you, though. I’ll start on a journal with all the survival information I can gather that might help you. And I’ll do my best to get information about the Infected so you can have a few pages of knowledge about them.”

Patton smiled and hugged the woman suddenly, “Thank you again! I’m so happy I have a chance to save my people.”

When he pulled away, the woman looked between them.

“I do not doubt that you two will succeed. No quest of this magnitude ever fails. I just worry about how many lives will be lost and what other costs the quest’s party will have to pay.”

She kissed Patton’s cheek, then Roman’s, then vanished.

Roman looked at the prince, “We’ll start planning a packing list tonight.”

Patton nodded quickly, his bubbly voice suddenly sounding deeper and mature like the king he’d be some day.

“Yes, we’ll do that. And in one month, we’ll leave to save my people.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy this chapter, cause the next one is regretfully short (according to my plot outline, at least. I could be wrong). However, it's world building, so I'm trying to keep it short so it isn't boring, y'know? I'm gonna try to keep the next chapter entertaining, but I don't want to drone on and on about what a town looks like down to every detail about each pebble on the road. As I said last chapter, I have no editor, so please point out mistakes! And I love to hear your opinions and predictions, so feel free to share! Tell me about the paragraph spacing, too! Too much, too little?
> 
> Anyways, I hope you're hooked on the story and eagerly awaiting the next chapter! Love y'all!


	3. Chapter 2: Ring of Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eclipse has arrived, and off they go.

#  Chapter 2: Ring of Fire

Over the next few weeks, Patton was constantly training, and it was exhausting. His fingertips were calloused from his bowstring, and he didn’t know how to feel about his shoulders and stomach tightening slightly from the constant exercising. He also worked on his swordsmanship with Roman every single day. Speaking of which-

Roman cut towards Patton’s feet, and the prince hardly had any time to jump over the blade before the knight grabbed his wrist and yanked him forwards. Patton grunted as he got kneed in the gut, and he wheezed, but brought his blade up and parried Roman’s next swipe. He stumbled back and away from the knight’s relentless attacks, then he was suddenly falling backwards. He hit the ground with a groan, closing his eyes.

Roman grinned, “You’re doing a lot better, Pat.”

“I’ve lost every single time, Ro.”

“Better than your first attempt when you nearly impaled yourself.” He nudged the prince with his foot, “Besides, you can best anyone at archery and you’ll have your bow, so it’ll be fine.”

Patton groaned some more and got up, “We’re leaving tonight. Are you sure we’ve got everything we need? Everything is packed and ready to go?”

Roman nodded, and the two men headed towards the prince’s room.

“Don’t worry, Pat. We’ll slip away when the eclipse is about to begin, then the court mage will teleport us out. With her map and journal, we’ll go ask the wizard to enchant the map, then we’ll be on our way.”

Patton smiled nervously, “Good. we’ve delayed long enough.”

  
  


~ 

  
  


Roman led the way up the tower’s staircase, holding a small chamber stick that lit up the gloomy walls. He opened the wooden door at the top stairs, revealing the mage with her hands held up. 

“Hello, boys. Ready to go?”

Patton nodded silently, and Roman cleared his throat quietly.

“Do you have the map and journal for us?”

The mage hummed, “So impatient. But yes, I do. They’re in my bag.”

Roman glanced around before catching sight of the bag. He opened it, grabbing the leather journal and paper scroll. He handed the journal to Patton, who put it in his own bag, then Roman opened the scroll. It was a map of Thomas’ kingdom, Dressan, and there was a small star on a nearby town. As if reading Roman’s mind, the mage spoke.

“That star marks the wizard’s residence. He’s a… peculiar person, but he’ll help you, I’m sure. I never asked what his home looks like, but it’ll be far from the other townspeople.”

Patton smiled, “Thank you again, ma’am.”

The mage shook her head, “I’m just playing my part in your destiny, your Highness. Now, let’s get you two out of the castle.”

She held up one hand towards the two men, and their vision started to blur.

“I’ll try to get you as close as I can to the wizard’s location, but you’ll probably have to do a bit of walking. Good luck.”

The two men warped, then they disappeared in a dramatic snap of silver magic.

  
  


~

  
  


Patton woke up first. He slowly looked around, then shook Roman awake. They were lying in a large field, and they got up after a couple moments of gaining their bearings.

Roman looked around, then pointed to a distant cluster of buildings. 

“There’s the village. Let’s get going.”

Patton nodded, and they started walking. 

By the time they got to the small village, dawn was breaking and the town was starting to wake up. The small community caused a few suspicious glances to be tossed towards the two travelers, but they were otherwise ignored.

Patton hummed, “Let’s start looking for the wizard.”

They started looking around, and Roman soon impatiently groaned. 

“Let’s just  _ ask _ someone.”

Patton chewed on his lip, but he nodded and walked over to a man who was cleaning a store window that read  _ Dot and Larry’s Books of Stories _ . He tapped on the man’s shoulder, smiling politely.

“Hello sir. Me and my friend here are looking for the local wizard. Do you happen to know where he lives?”

The man frowned, eyeing the two of them suspiciously through his glasses, but he eventually nodded and pointed north.

“He lives in a tower that way, that stereotypical hermit. I hope you ain’t here for trouble. This town don’t like people bothering Logan. He’s peculiar, but he doesn’t deserve any trouble from two travelers.”

Roman stepped up from behind Patton, “Don’t worry sir, we just need to ask for a favor. No trouble, promise.”

The man grumbled, but he went back to cleaning the window.

The moment Patton and Roman were out of earshot, the man walked into his store and looked at the black cat who was lounging on the back of one of the sofas. The pointy-nosed woman looked up at the man.

“What’s wrong, Larry?”

The man shook his head and looked at the cat pointedly, and the animal immediately tensed and got up, tilting its head as its tail lashed.

Larry grimaced, “Two men were asking about Logan, cat.”

The cat made a distressed noise and darted towards the door, and Larry hardly had time to open the door so the cat didn’t ram into it.

The woman stood up, “Were they looking for trouble?”

“I don’t know, Dot. But I’d rather not risk it. If they are, Logan will need the cat.”

  
  


~

  
  


Patton was humming quietly, and Roman sang under his breath to his best friend’s tune. Patton suddenly squealed, clutching the knight’s arm tightly.

“Pat?! What is it?!”

Patton pointed to the ground, and Roman frowned when all he saw was a black cat bolting towards them. The two men watched as it ran right past them and down the faint path through the grass. 

Patton grabbed his friend’s wrist and dragged him after the cat. A couple moments later, the two of them suddenly stopped.

A tall, midnight blue tower stood among a meadow of flowers. The dark bricks seemed to glow minimally as they watched, and the cat didn’t slow down as it ran towards the tower. Patton opened his mouth to warn the cat, but the cat suddenly ran into the base of the tower.

And then it started to run up the side of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Get ready to add another character to our quest next chapter, kids! Hope you enjoyed! As always, point out any mistakes you find, please! Hope you enjoy!


	4. The Blushing Wizard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The reach the wizard. Simple as that. And Patton is oblivious.

Logan didn’t know what to expect whenever his familiar came running through the tower window. He did, however, tug on his robe so the cat could scamper up his back and perch on his shoulders without clawing his skin.

“What is it?”

He heard the deep, soft voice in his mind, and he followed the cat’s instructions and went to look out the window. He blinked when he saw two men standing at the base of his tower. He glanced at his familiar.

“Are they a threat?” 

When the cat didn’t respond, he waved his hand, and the two men teleported into the room. The blonde stumbled and fell, and the brunette braced himself against the wall. Logan grimaced, striding over to the blonde and offering his hand.

“I apologize. I was just trying to be efficient, and I doubted you’d want to climb the stairs-”

Logan stopped abruptly as a hand landed on his own, and he felt his mouth go dry as he locked eyes with big, crystal blue orbs. He shook his head slightly when he felt claws pricking his shoulder, and he straightened and pulled the rather gorgeous man off the floor. He cleared his throat.

“Anyways, what have you two come to request? You’ve clearly traveled to come here, which is odd. I’m not known by many outside of this town.”

The brunette spoke up with a polite tone, but kept his nose slightly upturned.

“The mage of King Thomas’ court said you specialized in enchanting items. She gave us a map for you to enchant for our quest.”

Logan arched an eyebrow, and he saw the two men stiffen. He wasn’t bothered, though. He knew he was an intimidating man appearance-wise, especially whenever his magic flared. Something about the stern expression and impeccable clothing made up for his unimpressive height and muscle mass.

“Odd. Her letter said one human and one faerie. However, I see two human men. I suppose she is getting rather old. I cannot hold her observation skills, nor memory, against her. Come, I’ve just brewed some tea. It’ll help your nausea that the teleportation caused. Do be wary walking around here. Don’t touch anything. Some of these items will kill you. We’ll discuss this map and quest over tea.”

Logan turned on his heel and walked over to a large mahogany table. He cleared away his latest experiment with a flick of his hand, then teleported the tea and four cups over. He then looked at the two men.

“I hope you like peppermint tea.”

  
  


~

  
  


Patton looked at the wizard curiously, but he and Roman sat down at the table. He glanced at the cups, then counted them.

“Uh, Mr. Wizard? Why do you have four cups? There’s only three of us.”

The wizard looked up at him, and Patton was confused when said wizard quickly looked back down at the tea.

“I assure you, there’s four of us here. And you can call me Logan. Would you like honey in your tea?”

Roman perked up beside Patton.

“Oh, yes! That sounds  _ amazing.” _

Logan nodded sharply, and Patton politely declined the honey. He then watched as the wizard stirred two cups with honey and two without. Logan set a honey-less tea in front of himself and Patton, then handed one of the other cups to Roman. He then grabbed the last cup and walked away.

“Wait, where are you going?”

Logan didn’t respond, setting the cup of tea inside a small wooden building. It looked like a birdhouse just hanging from the wall, but the entrance was bigger than most birds and it was dark and gloomy on the inside despite the light coming from the tower’s main room. Logan then turned slightly so his shoulder was closest to the small building.

A blur of black suddenly scurried off the wizard’s shoulders and into the birdhouse-thing. Seconds later, violet eyes  could be seen watching them from the inside.

Logan walked back over, then noticed Patton gazing at the birdhouse. He waved his hand, “Oh, don’t mind him. He’s harmless. Mostly.” He glanced at the birdhouse, “Actually, I don’t suggest you get near him. He can get… irritable when new people are around.”

Patton eventually closed his mouth, then he scolded Roman when he noticed the knight was simply slurping his tea as he looked around the room.

“Roman! Have some manners!”

Roman snorted, “Manners? You haven’t even introduced yourself.”

Patton gasped, whirling on Logan. “Oh, I’m so sorry! I’m Patton, and this is Roman!”

Logan nodded, “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Now, let me see this map. You said you wanted it enchanted for your quest? Then I’ll need some supplies.”

As Logan walked around the room, grabbing ink, a quill and some small pebbles, Patton took out the map and spread it out on the table. Logan came back over, inspecting the map critically.

“What do you need it to do?”

“The court mage said that we needed to go to the starlight tower to figure out what ‘three items were lost’. So, we need to find the starlight tower.”

Logan stared at Patton, then snapped his fingers. The room went dark, and Patton looked around wildly.

“Why did you do th-  _ oh.” _

All around him, he could see the night sky going endlessly in every direction. He reached out, then he was back in the tower room. Patton blinked, then laughed.

“Well, I guess we found the starlight tower, then, huh?”

Logan nodded, “That’s what the townsfolk call my tower, at least. So, I suppose I’m supposed to enchant this so it locates the three lost items. Interesting.”

The wizard eyed the map for a long time, then his stern expression seemed to lighten slightly. He grabbed the quill and dipped it in the jar of ink, then began scribbling on the map. The words he wrote were completely gibberish, but Patton stayed quiet. Eventually, Logan set the pebbles around the swirling words in a perfect circle, adjusting them for a good two minutes before he was satisfied. He straightened with a nod, holding up glowing hands. The pebbles glowed in response to the dark blue magic dripping off Logan’s arm.

Patton tilted his head, and Roman gasped quietly.

The ink on the map suddenly vanished, and Logan slowly lowered his glowing hands. He picked up the pebbles and walked over to one of the many desks and set them in a drawer. When he came back over, he tapped the map twice.

“There you go. The mage mentioned a prophecy in her letter, so I assumed you two must be a part of it. If any of the- four, was it? If any of the four creatures in the prophecy taps the map three times and asks the map to locate something, it will give you the most efficient path two whatever they ask for.”

Roman leaned over, looking at the map. He glanced at Patton, then tapped the map three times.

“Show me where the first lost item is.”

The map quivered but showed nothing. Logan arched an eyebrow.

“First off, ask politely. Secondly, you can’t ask for a  _ concept. _ You have to ask for something specific. So, what are these lost items?”

Patton grimaced, peeking at Roman before slowly speaking.

“We don’t actually know.”

Logan looked dumbfounded, then he shook his head. 

“That’s fine. We can figure it out. What problem are you trying to solve.”

Patton chewed on his lip before responding.

“Ah, you know of the Infected?” At Logan’s nod, he continued. “Well, we’re going to find what’s causing it and stop it at the source.”

Logan hummed for a moment, and Roman frowned at the wizard, jumping when the latter let out a sharp ‘ _ Aha!’ _

“The only creature that can control someone  _ and _ change the eye color is a siren! A faerie! Well, one type of faerie. That means the solution is simple, just difficult to accomplish. You’ll need something unique to a siren, so a siren’s song. Then gorgon venom. It’s one of the few things that can kill a siren and that’s able to be put in a bottle. Lastly, you’ll need an active ingredient to bond the two other ingredients…” He tapped on his chin, then he nodded to himself, “A shadow. Specifically, one caught by a seer.”

Patton and Roman just stared at the wizard, who frowned.

“What?”

Roman scoffed, “You can’t be serious! Those are the most  _ ridiculous _ items ever!”

Logan huffed, “It’s the best option. The other potions or items that can kill a siren will either take too long to get or are impossible to collect and stay alive. Besides, all the items can be considered ‘lost’. A shadow that a seer can catch is already detached from the host. A siren’s song sounds beautiful to humans and lots of creatures, but the voice they, and other faeries, hear is actually quite raspy, like their ancestors. The original sirens had their throats slit and then thrown into the ocean. From that, a siren’s true voice was taken from them, and they cannot hear their own song. And they cannot see well, either. So beauty as a whole was taken from them, but a siren song works, as well. As for the gorgon venom, their venom is actually jellyfish toxin. Whenever the original gorgon was created, Medusa, the sea god tossed her aside carelessly after taking virginity. However, Athena took pity on Medusa despite her own anger and gave her a way to protect herself from all men: her stone gaze. However, whenever a man attacked Medusa and got turned into stone, his wife got angry. She tried to avenge her husband, and Medusa was unable to turn her to stone since she was born a woman. After successfully defending herself and slaying the woman, Medusa prayed to Athena to take her life. She just wanted to be left alone, and the wives of her victims kept attacking her and making her suffer. Athena refused to kill her and instead gave her another gift. Medusa’s snakes suddenly had venomous bites, and any woman that got bit was put into a near-death state. If they were attacking Medusa out of anger, or selfishness, they would die. But if they attacked her out of grief for their husbands, they’d get sick, but would live and would be gifted with the ability to bring one person, and only one person, back from the brink of death. Anyways, the venom that the snakes had was jellyfish toxin, which Athena stole from Poseidon as revenge, but she modified it. The only problem is storing the gorgon venom. I suggest stealing a tooth, because it would’ve been exposed to enough venom that it would’ve absorbed a bit, and just one drop is enough for the potion.” Logan looked rather proud of his rant, but the two other men were clearly lost and in awe. Roman spoke first.

“I have no idea how you know all that off the top of your head, but wow.”

Logan shrugged, “I like to research. And I like female empowerment fables with morals.”

Patton laughed and shook his head, “You’re so cool, Lo.”

The wizard blushed and looked away. 

“Ah… thanks. It’s, ah, it’s early in the morning still. Would you like to stay for breakfast? It’s no trouble, really.”

Patton smiled, “Thank you, we’d love to stay for breakfast.”

Logan nodded, “I’ll get started on that. Roman, was it? If you look in that cabinet,” he pointed across the room, “you’ll find assorted potions that I’ve stored for something important. You can grab a few healing potions for your journey. The two of you may find that you need them.”

  
  


~ 

  
  


After a fantastic breakfast consisting of fresh bread, non-alcoholic cider and apple slices, Patton and Roman were getting ready to continue their quest. When they were done getting ready, Patton smiled at Logan brightly.

“Thank you for the breakfast and for the map! We really appreciate it!”

Roman nodded, “Yes, it would’ve been impossible to complete our quest without your help, Logan!”

Logan nodded, “It was pleasant to have company around once again. I wish you luck on your quest.” He raised his hand to teleport them to the base of the tower, but Patton suddenly walked towards him. 

“What is it, Pat-”

Logan froze whenever the shorter man kissed his cheek, then he cleared his throat. Patton smiled, “Thanks again!”

The two travelers disappeared with a twitch of Logan’s hand, then the wizard touched his cheek with an awed expression. He caught a glimpse of movement and looked towards the table where they had eaten. Violet eyes met his, and the cat made a snickering noise. Logan blushed.

“Don’t you  _ dare _ say anything. I’m not interested in your sass right now.”

The cat let out a sympathetic trill, then it trotted over to the couch and hopped on top of it to take a nap. When Logan hadn’t moved for several minutes, the cat opened its eyes. Logan frowned when a voice echoed in his mind.

“I know they’ll be fine… but what if they need my help? Or if they need magic? Yes, I know I’m not supposed to be the one who worries, but-” 

Logan froze, then screeched, “ _ Falsehood! _ I do  _ not _ have a crush on a man I’ve known for less that a  _ day!” _

The cat definitely snickered this time, and it ran off so it wouldn’t have to listen to Logan’s pacing and muttering for the next several hours.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, next chapter will be a tad short, but hopefully entertaining! As always, comment grammatical errors and such!


	5. Chapter 4: And the Wizard is Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As predicted, the wizard returns, and someone is keeping watch over the knight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, a lovely reader commented with some advice, so thank you so much to luciesper! So, a little clearing up before the chapter:
> 
> For a person to become an Infected, they have to be bitten, scratched or something like that. Being cut by a weapon wielded by an Infected doesn't transfer the venom. If the venom is transferred, symptoms will show up, trust me. Sorry for not being clear. When this was pointed out, I was like, 'Wow, good job me' so thank you again to who pointed it out! 
> 
> Secondly, I did draw some character art, but I am no artist, so I'll be perfecting them before posting them. I will share them eventually!
> 
> Lastly, I do have a bit of a schedule posted at the ending notes.
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter!!!! This should be one of the last short chapters, cause the story is picking up!

Roman and Patton were struggling to say the least. Over the two days since they left Logan’s tower, they’d been attacked by a bear, multiple small wildcats, a porcupine and a rather peeved snapping turtle. Each time they had been able to escape, but they were running on low sleep and had little food left, even after rationing.

Patton tried to stay positive by cracking jokes and spouting any puns he could think of. However, even he couldn’t deny that he was exhausted. When Roman founded a small area with soft grass and thick-leaved trees to shelter them from the sun, the prince practically crumpled to the ground. He groaned dramatically as Roman sat down against a tree next to him.

“We’ll rest here for the night, then we can keep going in the morning. Okay, Pat?”

Patton nodded into the grass and closed his eyes, and Roman sighed.

“I’ll see if I can catch anything. Start a fire, alright?”

Patton nodded once more. Start a fire.

He could do that.

  
  


~

  
  


Patton and Roman ate the slightly-burned rabbit quietly. The night was eerily quiet, and the tense air didn’t help the vague sense of danger Roman felt.

Roman shook himself, tossing the bones into the fire, ignoring Patton’s pout. He couldn’t help that his best friend was such an animal lover. The two of them had to eat, and meat would give them more energy than scavenging for mushrooms or berries. He stretched his arms above his head with a yawn. Patton looked up at him.

“Get some rest, Ro. I’ll take the first watch.”

Roman frowned, opening his mouth to respond, but the blonde cut him off.

“If we’re going to get attacked, it’ll be at night, not right now. It’s not even sundown. I’ll wake you up when it’s dark. Until then,  _ sleep. _ ”

He couldn’t argue with that. He laid down, glancing around a few times before forcing himself to relax. He rolled onto his side, almost immediately falling asleep. But in those brief seconds before his breathing evened out, he could’ve sworn he saw mismatched eyes watching him from the shadows. 

_ It’s probably nothing.  _

  
  


~ 

  
  


Patton woke up to a loud snarl. He shot up then dived out of the way of scary-thin body pouncing towards him. He scrambled towards his bow and quiver, putting the latter on his back and drawing his bow. He let the arrow fly, and it protruded from the skinny man’s shoulder. The man went down, screeching and writhing from the pain, and Patton resisted the urge to check on him. He glanced around, and he found Roman whirling his sword around himself to keep three Infected away.

Patton grimaced, but he shot two of the Infected in the shoulders and calves. Roman cut the last one’s hamstring, then the knight rushed over to Patton to check on him. Patton waved him off as he scanned their surroundings. He whispered, “Roman. There’s more.”

Roman followed his gaze, and they both tensed as a dozen pairs of glowing yellow eyes watched them from between the trees. The knight raised his sword, but he hesitated when more eyes appeared in the shadows.

“Pat. Get ready to run.”

“ _ What? _ ”

“Get ready. To run. Three.”

“This is a bad idea, Ro-”

“Two.”

“We can’t outrun all of them-

“Go!”

Despite his doubts, Patton followed Roman closely as they ran away from the attackers. Patton was soon puffing for breath, but he didn’t dare slow down. 

By some stroke of bad luck, they found themselves blocked by a rock ledge that towered above them. Roman grabbed Patton’s wrist and moved to start running in a different direction, but they were immediately surrounded by the horde of the Infected. 

“Get behind me, Pat.”

Roman pushed Patton behind him, raising his sword, but the prince suddenly grabbed his arm. 

“Ro, look!”

Roman followed his friend’s frantic pointing, and he blinked when he saw a black cat sprinting down the rock ledge, which was nearly vertical. The cat didn’t seem bothered by that, though, and it jumped down to land next to their feet. The cat looked back up to the top of the rock ledge, and the two men saw lightning arcing around a robed figure. The figure then leapt down, the lightning following him and zapping randomly as if he were some thunder god. 

The figure landed just in front of them, and the lightning leapt out and tore through all of the Infected. When all of the yellow-eyed people were unconscious, the lightning swarmed around the figure in a brilliant show of power. However, the lightning passed over Patton and Roman harmlessly for a moment before it absorbed back into the figure. 

The figure looked at them, and Patton grinned. 

“Logan!”

The wizard nodded. 

“Greetings, Patton. Roman.”

He clicked his tongue, and the cat easily hopped up and perched on his shoulder. Logan rubbed the cat’s head for a moment before speaking.

“It came to my attention that you two could benefit from assistance. If you would allow me to, I’d like to offer my services and join your quest.”

Roman frowned and started to protest, but Patton shushed him before grinning at Logan. 

“We’d love some help! Thanks, Lo!”

The wizard nodded curtly, “Brilliant. Now, I have a camp set up half a mile from here in the eastern direction. We can finish resting there until morning.”

Patton nodded and dragged Roman behind him as they followed the wizard. 

Roman tilted his head as something occurred to him. 

“Hey Sparky, how did you know we needed help?”

Logan paused, glancing back at the knight. 

“I had a friend keeping watch over you, just in case you needed help. I was going to catch up in the morning through teleportation, but I came immediately whenever I was informed that you two needed help.”

Roman didn’t have a response to that, but the black cat on Logan’s shoulder turned to look at him, blinking slowly before parting its lips in a grin as its glowing eyes narrowed. 

The knight shuddered. That cat seemed way too smart. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, schedule and explanations.
> 
> So, yes, I have a plot outline for my story, so it's not hard to predict when I'll have chapters out, but deadlines make my work suffer. Therefore, I'm just trying to keep posting chapters within 2-3 weeks of the last chapter. So... bear with me?
> 
> Also, marching band camp starts soon, and this is Texas, so we take marching band super seriously. I'm a part of the color guard, so I have a lot of various duties and practices. I'm also guard mom (I carry the backpack with all the cool supplies) so I do put more time and effort into the team. Because of this, I'll have less time to write/post, but I'm going to do all I can to post chapters regularly.
> 
> Next, I loveeeeee that I got comments with encouragement and advice! I'm not a new writer, I've been writing regularly for nearly six years, but this my first time posting anything that wasn't poetry. I do really appreciate the comments, because I love improving! As long as you don't say I completely suck, then know that I gush over every comment I get! But, yes, yay comments!!!!
> 
> Last thing, promise. Please please pleaseee wear your masks in public, at school, on the bus, and anywhere that you'll be around non-household members. If you do get symptoms, don't freak out! Inform trusted adults to get the help you need, and stay safe! If you're going to BLM protests, then wear your masks! That's a lot of (awesome, brilliant) people chanting together, and it only takes one person who isn't showing symptoms for the virus to sweep through the crowd. Please, take every precaution! And remember, change doesn't happen overnight. It took decades for women to get the right to vote, but here we are! It took decades for LGBT+ people to get human rights, but here we are! And it has been centuries of suffering, but things will change for the better, and the BLM movement will make a difference! Thank you to everyone showing support! 
> 
> Be! Safe! Wear you masks!

**Author's Note:**

> Do tell me what you think in the comments, I do actually care. I have no editor, so also notify me of plot holes, grammar issues, inconsistencies or anything else. If you ask questions, I might answer, might not. Thanks for reading, and stay tuned!


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